Siria in a rubber plantation
Paraduwa's grandmother's house was in the middle of a large rubber plantation. It feels very deserted in the evening because of the shade of tall rubber trees. There are only grandmother and three uncles in the house. The three uncles are working on different jobs and come home after nightfall. Achchi also goes to the fields in the evening to fetch the cow or fetch the leaves.
When the holidays start, it is our custom to go to our grandmother's house. She is our mother's mother. After the trip to grandma's house where everyone gathers together, I stay there because of the inspiration I get there.. Sometimes Aya also stays with me. This time I was the only one staying because he had an exam. Father will come to pick me up again a few days before the end of the vacation.
After dark, the Sinhalese tile-roofed house in the middle of the rubber garden also gets dark. That's why I feel a lot of fear when I am alone. The porch of the house gets a little light because of the well on that side. I stand on the short wall of the porch and look at the rubber boat in fear. Tall rubber trees sway in the wind like demons.
Being at grandma's house is an inspiration. Walking in the rubber garden, collecting rubber seeds and nuts, walking in the orchard, going to Akura to watch a movie, we like to stay there even if we feel scared in the evening.
I learned how to make a bummer by drilling a rubber nut, how to make a cart out of two rubber nuts, how to make a ball out of coconuts from my uncle. As well as Achichi, the uncles bring sweets for the evening. When Achchi went to Akura to sell rubber sticks, her hand was swollen. Sometimes she accompanies me.
Cutting latex and making rubber roti is very exciting. A shed with a rubber crushing machine was in the corner of the rubber garden. Bassunnehe, who cuts latex, comes when the morning light falls. He goes from tree to tree and removes the nuts and puts them in a bag. He cuts the edge of the tree with a milk knife and puts the milk coconut shells on the wire tied to the tree.
Then he comes back at noon. By that time, the coconut shell is full of latex. Basunnahe, who goes from tree to tree and collects them in a panittu, brings them to the milk shed. He pours the milk into trays, measures it into a lid and mixes the vinegar with it. After that, the bubbles in the tray are removed with a piece of thin plate and left to cool.
A few hours later, at around three in the afternoon, the grandmother goes to the milk shed and thins the frozen roti with her hands. After that, the stones are crushed by rollers. The stone roll is made up of two rolls. The rolls should be rotated in a shape by passing the rubber bread between the two rolls. That queen is entrusted to me. Crushing stone roll bread is quite difficult. That's because the rubber bread, which is about an inch thick, has to be crushed to about half an inch. When the bread is crushed with a stone roll, the bread is crushed well and the water in it escapes. As the roll rotates, the rubber bread should be pulled to both sides by hand and held in a tight square shape. Grandma does it with great experience. We are not even allowed to touch the roti for fear of getting hold of the roll.
After that, the roti is crushed by the mold roll. When the roll is crushed, the square pattern on the roll is drawn on the bread.
The last thing to do is to dry the roti in the smokehouse near the kitchen. She puts wood in the smokehouse stove and lights it and closes the door of the smokehouse.
A strange smell can be felt from the rubber roti that is cooked as long as needed. Rubber roti is brown. The grandmother collects roti that has been smoked for several days and takes them to a shop that buys local ingredients in Akuresse. In these shops, they buy not only rubber but also things like kurudu and goraka.
When I remember these experiences I had in the middle of a rubber plantation when I was a child, I feel immense happiness.
